It was close to 4 p.m. Thursday before students began being released, according to the school’s Facebook Page.
A statement on the Martinsville Elementary School Facebook page read:
Due to a safety concern, Martinsville Police Department had students at Martinsville Elementary to shelter in place until the area was deemed safe by Martinsville Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Department.
Shortly before dismissal, students reported seeing a stranger in the area north of the playground in a field. Those students followed safety directions by alerting staff members. Staff had all students, staff and parents enter and stay in the building until an all clear was determined by law enforcement to ensure the safety of everyone.
With assistance from the Clark County Sheriff’s Department and the Casey Police Department, Martinsville Chief of Police Ryan Slater determined it was safe to allow dismissal in an orderly fashion by dismissing students one bus at a time.
Superintendent Jill Rogers and Principal Victoria Norton were directing staff and students using proper safety protocol and by staying in constant contact with law enforcement.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe. School will resume tomorrow as normal.
We talked with a parent who was on scene during the unnerving situation.
“About 2:50 I was waiting for my kid to get out of school and all of the sudden the cops started flying down this area. They had drones in the air and everything … It was absolutely nerve wracking, I didn’t know what was going on and if it wasn’t for me listening to the radio i wouldn’t have known what was going on … They made sure all the kids were safe and I felt more relieved that my kid was inside the school and they were taking care of him,” parent Anthony Duvall said.
